Chapter 7: Light and Shadow

I sighed and stretched my body after changing into new clothes. I left my tent to appreciate my work in setting up camp for the night. In matters of convenience and efficiency, we were told that three ponies are able to squeeze into these tents along with their gear, and I could understand why from the size of it after I had finished setting it up. It was a good distraction after I had a good cry a while ago, along with putting up my soaked clothes on a provided liner to dry overnight.

“All right, that should do it. I still can’t believe how things escalated into this.” My thoughts drifted to that kiss before I shook myself out of it. “Let’s just try to get past that and think of something else …”

I knew I would be travelling with Nil once we regrouped in Manehattan, but I wanted to think of what other options are available if things turn out ugly. It was true that I wanted to learn more about my Light Magic and why this type of elemental magic was so rare among practitioners. The old hag explained some when I was training under her, but she was still rather cryptic about some details, annoying as that was. If she wasn’t going to be straight even if I talked to her again, I might as well look for those answers on my own, right?

Sure, I could have gone back home to Trottingham where my mother and older sister would still be doing their own things, and from the letters we exchanged during my year at the academy, they seemed to miss me as much as I missed them. That still left the question of what I wanted to do with my life.

“I guess getting into the business that most of my family’s in would be one option. It sounds like a lot of fun, but I’m not sure if I want one of my favorite activities to be turned into a way of living …” Before I thought any deeper, my stomach suddenly growled. “Guess all that excitement made me forget about dinner. Good thing I—”

Snap!

“Freeze!” Out of habit, I immediately sprang up to my hooves and pointed two of my fingers on one hand at the source of the sound’s direction, readying to create a small magic sphere. “Step slowly into the clearing with your hands in the air!”

I wheezed and leaned against the wall of the mountain, catching my breath after finally going down countless stairs to leave Canterlot’s premises.

“Holy shit, that took a while,” I breathed between pants. “I gotta keep going though. Mom and Dad must have noticed I was gone and sent a search party to look for me.”

I quickly looked around and noted my surroundings before my eyes caught the Foal Mountains’ majestic silhouette. Looking down, I saw a large forest across a flowing river that surrounded the mountain Canterlot was perched upon.

“That looks like a good spot to hide for the night.” I went straight into the forest, using my magic to hover myself over the river to get across before I jogged the rest of the way. It was a good thing I tried to stay fit in my running with Dad drilling me some mornings of the week, or I might have been exhausted before I even reached the bottom of the mountain.

I arrived in the forest minutes later, slowing my jog to a walk to conserve energy. It was a little chilly, especially with my soaked clothes. The noises from some of the animals in the dark were sending shivers up my spine.

Come on, Starry, get a grip. I just need to get through one night out here before I figure out what to do next after morning comes. Just gotta find a good place to sleep, relax, keep cool, and not make any noises—

Snap! My thoughts were interrupted when I stepped on a twig, followed by an immediate shout.

“Freeze! Step slowly into the clearing with your hands in the air!” a mare exclaimed as I saw two glowing things of purple in the distance, one looking like an aura around a horn while the other below that was a ball of light.

Oh fuck! That’s a Magic Gun! If this pony knows that, then they must have trained in the Royal Guard! What are they doing here?!

“You hear what I said?! I said step into the clearing with your hands in the air!”

Fuck, I shouldn’t disobey right now. Just play along and see if you can find a way to escape. I gulped and raised my arms, elbows bent at ninety degrees, before I obliged and walked toward the lights. I was trembling more out of fear than the cold as I got closer to the clearing where the pony was, and once I stepped out, I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable. I stood there for what felt like an eternity.

“Whoa, wait, aren’t you the kid from yesterday?”

I cracked open one of my eyes to peek before both opened wide once I saw who the pony was. Her weapon was lowered as she looked at me in question. It’s that mare … “Uh, yeah, I think so. You told me and my friends to get back home before dark after that colt ate a gem and left.”

“Yeah, that’s it. Didn’t think I’d see you again around these parts. What are you doing out here? Oh, and you can lower your arms now.”

“Uh …” I looked to the side as I lowered my arms, trying to come up with an answer before my stomach interrupted me.

“I guess you skipped out on dinner, too?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Hold on, I got some food in my bag. I was going to grab some grub before you came along. Have a seat.”

I took off my backpack and set it aside before sitting myself down cross-legged while the mare went into her tent. Well, I guess I owe Misty an apology for proving myself wrong about not running into this mare again. Still, I didn’t think she was training in the Royal Guard when I saw her yesterday. That shady guy with her must have been in it too. If she knows my dad though, I’ll need to keep my identity hidden.

Moments later, the mare came back with two plastic containers, water bottles, and forks pulled out from a paper bag. “It got a bit lukewarm since I put them in earlier, so I hope you don’t mind,” she said as she passed one of each to me.

“N-No! Not at all! Your generosity in sharing this is much appreciated.” I opened the lid, letting some of the steam leave the package. The mare sat and stared as she waited for me to take the first bite. I got the first spoonful into my mouth and gave it a few chews before my eyes widened. “Whoa, this is really good. What is it?”

“Corn casserole, my mom’s recipe,” she answered as she took the first bite herself. “Doesn’t exactly taste the same as I remember though.”

“Well it’s still very delicious, and I’m sure your mom would be proud, so thank you for sharing it.”

She smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

The next couple minutes were spent in silence as we ate our fill. Once finished, the mare put the dirtied containers, forks, and empty bottles back in the paper bag before turning to me. “Sorry if I scared you earlier. From the day I had, I was tense enough to respond the way I was trained.”

“It’s fine. So are you in the E.U.P. Guard Academy?”

“I was. Today was my last day there before I decided to get the fuck out of it.”

“You didn’t have a good time over there?”

“I didn’t want to go there to begin with, but complications had me going anyways.”

“I’m sorry your stay in Canterlot wasn’t that great.”

“Eh, the city’s fine, but it’s not the kind of place I want to live in. There were more stuck-ups walking around there than I thought. I wanted to take the train to Manehattan, but the station was closed when I was ready to leave and I didn’t want to stay another day there.”

“So that’s why you’re out here near the Foal Mountains?”

“Yup. I’ll be heading to Manehattan first thing in the morning, too. So what’s your story being out here?”

I opened my mouth before the series of events from earlier came to mind: the conversation my parents had, the fear I had in my room, the panic that rushed me packing and leaving the house, and the sorrow after I left the letters to my best friends in the world. My mind went fuzzy at that moment before I gritted my teeth, shut my eyes tightly, and tried not to let any tears fall.

“Hey, are you all right?” the mare asked as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jolted my eyes open to see a blurry vision of the pony in front of me.

The coldness ran through me once more as I started to shiver. I looked down and hugged my arms, trying to make it stop. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what … J-Just let me take a moment to—”

Before I said anything else, a feeling of warmth enveloped me as I gasped silently. The shivering stopped, but my vision was still shaky.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay. You can let it all out.”

The soothing voice that said those words was like magic as I broke and bawled into her shoulder. All the anxiety I’d held in from that moment was pouring out into tears as I wrapped my arms around her while she stroked my back. I thought I did enough crying after I lost the Magic Duel, but this was much more intense.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally started to calm down as my sobs became quieter. My shoulders still shook a little before I pulled myself back and wiped my eyes and nose with my sleeve.

“You feel a little better?”

“A little. Sorry for all of that.”

“Everypony needs a good cry now and then, so don’t worry about it.”

I looked back up to the mare with a clearer vision, seeing her smile softly while the moonlight accentuated her beauty.

“Why don’t you calmly explain from the beginning what happened and we’ll see where to go from there, all right?”

I sniffled and nodded before I told her about the biggest things which had happened today: the Magic Duel I lost, the new magic I learned—with details of who taught me still too vague to explain—what went on when I got home, and how I got here in the woods. The mare sat there listening intently throughout the whole thing, stopping me a few times for a question or two before I continued to the end.

“I see, I think I get it now,” she said with a nod, “and your two fillyfriends are the ones that were with you yesterday, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“They looked pretty cute. You must be quite the stallion to snag those two ponies.” She then smirked while quirking a brow.

“I’m not much, really. After what happened today, they deserve a lot better, especially since I couldn’t choose between them.”

“Hmm … Have you thought of forming a herd with them?”

“Oh I couldn’t do that. That stuff is pretty taboo in Canterlot, especially for the higher class that one of my friends grew up with. I don’t think she would want that, her parents especially. I’m not so sure about my other friend, though.”

“Well going back to what kind of pony they deserve, let me tell you something. From the colts I’ve seen when I was around your age, you’re a lot better than them. Not many of them would do what you did for your friends today. Just showing how much you care about them can get fillies to swoon. I know I’d want to be with you if I was in their hooves, and your cuteness is just a bonus for them.”

“Oh geez.” I averted my gaze and rubbed my arm while my face heated up. I was sure my color would stand out even in the dark.

“Still, I’m really sorry all of that happened to you,” she said with concern. “What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know. Dad said my magic was dangerous, apparently, and I don’t want anypony to get hurt because of that.” I looked down with ears folded. “I guess I’d wander to a stranded place like they’d intended and live however long I can.”

“Speaking of which, I haven’t exactly seen this so-called dangerous magic of yours yet. Would you be willing to give a demonstration?”

Goosebumps started to rise under my fur as I jolted my head up to her. “Y-You … want to see it?”

“Can’t really say how dangerous this magic is unless I see it myself. What do you say? Could you do this for me? Please?”

My eyes darted around as my mind was drawing a blank. After a couple seconds, I realized what this kind mare had done for me tonight, and it wasn’t fair not to give something in return. I took a deep breath and looked back up to her. “Okay, just this once, but try not to freak out when you see it.”

“Trust me, there’s a good chance I’ve seen freakier. Now show me what you got.”

I nodded and held up my palm. With a little concentration as practiced earlier, a black aura surrounded my hand once more before a six-pointed star like my cutie mark rose out of it, hovering a few inches while it spun slowly. I glanced up to see the mare staring wide-eyed with a hand covering her muzzle. Her violet eyes were smaller than when I first saw them.

I figured there’d be a reaction like that. I sighed as I let go of my concentration, letting the star and aura around my hand dissipate. “I understand if you’re scared of this too. I think this might be a good time for me to go.” I stood up and lugged my things over my shoulders before I looked back down at the mare who was still staring. “Thank you for the food and hearing my story. I’ll find another place to sleep and get out of your hair. Have a good night …” I walked past her with ears folded as I made my way out of the clearing—

“Hold it,” she called, stopping me in my tracks. I was suddenly enveloped by a purple aura before being lifted up from the ground while my gear slipped off of my back. I was pulled back to a sitting position in front of the mare. “What’s your name?”

“W-What?”

“We’ve been sitting out here for the past half hour talking about how screwed up our lives are and you think you can just walk away without even introducing yourself like some sort of emo protagonist trying to look cool? No, I’m not even letting you get back up until we get over that bridge. So what … is your name?”

“S-Starry, ma’am.” I left out the other name fearing she might know whose son I was.

“Starry, let me tell you right now that that magic you have there isn’t dangerous. It only is in the hands of bad ponies, and if what you told me tonight is true, you are not a bad pony.”

“I-It isn’t dangerous? How do you know?”

“Because I have a magic that’s similar to that. Watch closely.” She then held up her own palm with a focused gaze, and suddenly, instead of purple, her horn was enveloped in a yellow light before a ball of the same color and essence appeared above her palm. The development lit up the majority of the clearing, as well as lighting up her distinguishing features that included the small smile gracing her face.

I was going to call her out that she was casting an illumination spell like I did earlier, but there was something really different with what she was doing. First, like my own recently discovered magic, hers was a completely different color than her Magic Gun and levitation I saw earlier. Second, the illumination spell only lets the horn light up the area around them, and it doesn’t form into a ball like she did. Third, the light produced a certain kind of warmth, something the illumination spell could never do. So instead of a retort, I was left with this response:

“… Whoa.”

“And that’s not all I could do. Watch the tree behind you at 2 o’ clock.” The ball of light then shrank to the size of a grape before it moved to two of her fingers. She pointed them towards the tree like she would with a Magic Gun. The ball was shot with a high-pitched squeal, moving at a faster speed than I’ve seen from a Magic Gun before it hit the tree she mentioned, leaving a burnt, black, round indent in the bark. The after effect was entirely different compared to a Magic Gun’s blast. If a Magic Gun shot a pony, the least dangerous form would make the force strong enough to knock the wind out of them, sometimes even stopping another unicorn from using magic for a brief moment if they willed it. If not handled carefully, the Magic Gun would make quite the lethal weapon, but it seemed the kind of shot the mare made showed its own kind of danger.

“Holy shit ...”

“What this is right here is called Light Magic, and what you have is called Shadow Magic,” the mare continued as I turned back to her. “This isn’t even limited to us unicorns either. You know the pegasus I was with yesterday? He actually has magic like us, too.”

“That shady hermit guy? Seriously?”

She snorted. “Shady hermit guy, good one! But yes, I’m serious. The three of us together are called Wielders, those who are able to cast these special forms of magic which is accessible to all three races. There are three other kinds of magic that are out there as well.”

I blinked as I was at a loss for what to say, but one question did come to mind. “So … Why exactly are you telling me this?”

“Let me ask you this first: Do you want to learn more about what this magic is?”

“Y-Yeah, definitely.”

“That pegasus and I will be travelling around Equestria to figure out what this magic is. Since it seems like you don’t know where to go from here, why don’t you join us?”

My eyes widened. “Y-You want me to come with you on this search?”

“I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t want you to, would I? I will have to warn you, however,” the mare’s brow furrowed, “from what he told me, it sounds like we might come across a lot of obstacles along the way. Lots of trouble, basically. It may even be dangerous. You won’t have to take on things alone, but the three of us would need to work together while shouldering each other’s weights to get through them all. Are you still interested in joining us after hearing this, Starry?”

I looked down with a furrowed brow of my own. It was true that I wanted to learn more about this Shadow Magic the mare explained to me, even more now along with what other kinds of magic are out there. There could be a chance I’d show the world how my magic wasn’t dangerous while at the same time learning what exactly I could do with it. I had already left everything dear to me behind and desperately run into the unknown ahead of me out of fear.

That being said, what else did I have left to lose?

I looked back up to the mare who still had the patient, but serious expression, waiting for my answer. “I … wanna know what I can do in this world, what this Shadow Magic is capable of, and I only have that, the magic I’ve already learned, as well as what I have on my back to get me by. I don’t know what I can do to help you guys, but I want to do my best, even if it means putting myself in danger.”

“So you’ll join us, then?”

“Yes. That is my decision, if you’ll have me.”

“In that case, let me be the first in welcoming you to the group.” With a determined smile, she held out a hand in front of me. “The name’s Luminescence Luster, but I like to go by Lumina. I’m what you’d call a Light Wielder if you haven’t guessed already.”

A smile spread on my face as I firmly grasped her hand to shake it. “I’m Starry, and … I guess I’m a Shadow Wielder if I do Shadow Magic, right?”

“That’s right.”

“That sounds pretty badass.”

She giggled before we pulled our hands back. “It kind of does, doesn’t it? Anyway, we still need to talk to Nil—that’s the pegasus’ name, by the way—about you joining us, but I have my ways of convincing him if normal methods don’t work, so you don’t have much to worry about,” she finished with a wink.

“All right, I guess I’ll count on you then.” The two of us stood and I picked up my things once more.

“Great! I already have a tent set up so we’ll be sleeping there tonight. Your clothes still look damp from the rain earlier, so it might be a good idea to change so you don’t catch a cold. You can hang the old ones on the liner over there.” She pointed her thumb behind her before I looked over her shoulder. There I saw pieces of clothing hanging on the liner, which included… a large black laced bra and matching panties.

Heat rose to my head before I shook it and cleared my throat. “Y-Yeah, good idea. I’ll just uh … change out here while you settle in.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you inside.” She then went back into the tent with the paper bag in hand while I went to the side to change into some new clothes.

As I hung the damp clothes on the liner, my eyes strayed to Lumina’s underwear, specifically the tag on her bra. I focused on the print before my eyes widened and I covered my mouth. My face was burning hot. Holy shit! 36DD?! How did she get through the academy with those huge things bouncing around?! My mind suddenly wandered to an image of her jogging around a track where her breasts were bouncing all over the place. I tried to shake the image off and slapped my cheeks. Sports bra! She must have a well-supported sports bra! There’s no way they wouldn’t be bouncing around like crazy otherwise! And I need to stop thinking about this!

I took a few deep breaths to try to keep myself composed. Just calm down, Starry. Lumina’s kind enough to provide you some help, so you shouldn’t even be thinking about her so disrespectfully and lewd-like. I mean, I may have stumbled across Mom’s and Dad’s secret stashes, and walked into Sultry’s ‘adult’ section in her shop—both cases on accident and innocent curiosity—and may have started seeing mares in a new light, but that doesn’t mean you should treat them any differently. I don’t know what the heck Misty and Granite would’ve done if they found that out about me before I left.

Anyway, you owe a lot to Lumina for treating you this nicely, so you need to treat her the same way, especially with how mature and attractive she is. I may have already started working towards it, but with how things are now, it’s really time to start acting like the strong, helpful, dependable stallion you promised to that filly to become all those years ago. I looked up to the night sky and pointed my pinky finger in the air. With the motions of the Sky Promise, I punched my fist to the stars, sending a message to that filly wherever she may be that I was still going strong. “Yes! I will do my best!” I exclaimed in a whisper.

Was this the right move for me to do? I thought to myself as I settled in my sleeping bag while waiting for Starry to come inside. Usually the right thing to do would be to return a lost pony to their home, but not only do I not want to go back to Canterlot after coming all this way, I feel sorry for the poor guy being abandoned by his own family like that. Whatever circumstances arose during that time, I just don’t see anything wrong with that kid after talking to him tonight, which contradicts what that old hag told me a while back about Shadow Wielders, too.

I recalled one of my training sessions with the old hag back in Trottingham where she was telling me a little about the other kinds of magic that were similar to mine. There was just that one warning she told me while she was lecturing about it that stood out to me.

“Whatever you do, Lumina, do not associate yourself with anypony that possesses Shadow Magic. They are considered unpredictable, cunning, and dangerous to be around. The moment you let one of them in with your guard down, they’ll stab you in the back the moment they get the opportunity. Literally.”

Yep. No matter how I looked at it, I just can’t see that kid being anything like the old hag described. Maybe she has some kind of grudge with them?

When I thought back to how the kid was desperately trying to hold back his tears, there was something familiar about that situation I couldn’t put a finger on. Plus, I didn’t even think about why I hugged and comforted him the way I did. Sure, anypony might have said it was the right thing to do, but it was as if I knew what to do as soon as I saw what was in front of me. Whatever was up with that kid, he resembled something I’ve seen before.

Ugh, this is just gonna keep me up all night if I keep thinking about it. I sighed and scratched my head after I undid the ponytail in my mane. As soon as I set the band aside, sounds of the tent’s zippers opening and closing were heard. I sat up to see Starry coming in with his horn lit with an illumination spell, lighting up the tent before he set his things down and started preparing his sleeping bag. “You all set there?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think it’s good enough, anyways,” he answered. After he finished setting up his sleeping bag, he turned to me with a smile. “Lumina, I just want to thank you again for everything you’ve done tonight. I think you’ve pretty much saved my life here.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I answered with a smile. “We both had a heck of a day, but it’s all over now.”

“At least until we begin anew tomorrow. I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to be a good … uh, what’s a good word for this? Companion? Partner?”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “No need for formalities, kid. At this point, we’re pretty much friends now.”

“You really mean that?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Well in that case, can we do something I do with my friends when we make promises? It just holds a lot more significance that way.”

“Ooh~, like a secret handshake?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“I don’t see why not. Lead the way and I’ll follow along.”

“It’s pretty easy. We just hold one pinky finger pointing each other like this,” he began as he demonstrated. I followed his example raising my right pinky in front of me and pointing it to his own. “Then we make the promise to everypony following the gesture pointing at the center. In this case, I promise to be a good friend who won’t be a burden to you and will support you in any way possible in the times to come.”

Wait, that’s weird, why does this—

“Then, we raise those pinkies high in the air, sending our promises to the sky as our witness and signifying they will always be near us when we think about them,” he continued as I mimicked his movements without thinking. “After that, we pull them down and back with our hands clenched into fists. And then with oomph, we punch right at each other, giving our promises the power and strength to not be broken since everypony involved got caught in it. The gestures are counted up to three so everypony is in sync with the motions once the promise is declared, and that’s how the Sky Promise works.”

The moment I heard the name after we punched, I was suddenly filled with nostalgia. This weird sense of déjà vu like earlier became stronger, but I somehow still couldn’t remember where I had even seen or heard of this situation before. My mind was going in circles like a dog chasing its own tail, where the answer seemed so close but was just out of reach.

“So what do you think? Pretty cool promise, huh?”

“H-Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s definitely unique. I kind of like it. So this means I’ll really hold you to that promise, right?”

“That’s right, and I won’t let you down.”

“All right, I guess that goes for me watching your back, too. Now let’s get some sleep and get plenty of rest. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

“Sure thing.” Starry then turned off the illumination spell, leaving the inside of the tent dark as we got ourselves comfortable in our sleeping bags. “Night, Lumina.”

“Good night, Starry.” I was facing away from Starry as I said that while staring at the darkened tent wall. After a few moments of silence, I closed my eyes.

Just who are you exactly, Starry?

Author's Note

And thus, a new journey awaits our main protagonists the next day.

But first, something unexpected comes up in Starry's dreams. What could be waiting for him in his slumber? You'll have to see in the next chapter, and until next time,

This is Dudeler, signing off.